Parts Catalogs On Endangered List
FleetPortal is designed to be a single source for parts and service for the trucking industry.
Jim Winsor
Executive Editor
What do your shop's mechanics do when they're not sure how to repair something? Or they need a wiring diagram? Or the part number for an ABS brake sensor? They can: A) ask other mechanics or the shop foreman, B) hope there's a current manual to look at, C) dig through parts lists or get on the telephone, or D) all of the above.
These time-honored - and time-consuming - ways of doing things in the fleet maintenance shop are about to change, thanks to a new program called FleetPortal. It's offered through subscription by TMC (the Technology and Maintenance Council of the American Trucking Assns.) and if your shop has a computer, it's just a matter of going online. As a subscriber, the answers to all your questions are literally at your fingertips.
This new program became available earlier this summer after two years of research and development, according to Carl Kirk, TMC's executive director and also vice president of ATA councils.
Southeastern Freightlines, a large regional LTL carrier headquartered in Columbia, S.C., gets the credit for implementing and de-bugging the first system.
David Foster, vice president of field maintenance for Southeastern, and a former TMC general chairman, spearheaded a task force for the project, which was approved by the TMC board of directors in March 2003. Southeastern now has two of its 20 shops running on FleetPortal for all technical support information.
Three other diversified fleets have also subscribed to the program, according to TMC's Kirk. They include Morgan Southern Inc., a large intermodal carrier; First Lease Truck Rental and Leasing; and Verizon, the giant communications fleet. Kirk said FleetPortal is particularly valuable to fleets with a mix of equipment and vehicle sizes, which only adds to the complexities of resolving technical needs.
According to Foster, Southeastern Freightlines has more than 250 maintenance people taking care of 10,000 tractors, trailers, lift gates, pickups, forklifts and dollies from a variety of manufacturers. The fleet receives a flood of technical literature in multiple formats, ranging from paper to CDs, as well as dozens of OEM and supplier web sites - all with different passwords and ways of finding and supplying data.
Says Foster: "We believe we will see notable improvements in our fleet maintenance process by using TMC FleetPortal at all of our 20 maintenance facilities. It is our intent to include in our Equipment Supplier Agreements the requirement that they provide parts and service information to TMC for our use through TMC FleetPortal."
If your fleet decides to use FleetPortal, the subscription price ranges from $250 to $5,000 monthly, depending on size of fleet. The participating vehicle manufacturers make all the data available based on the VIN build code for each make and model vehicle. It's a 100% customized program that only you as subscriber can access with your own passcode.
Kirk says Volvo and Mack are up and running and TMC is working with others who are supporting the concept.
Tier 2 (major component/systems) and Tier 3 (parts/pieces such as alternators, switches, etc.) suppliers are behind the program. Many of them already furnish their data to the vehicle OEs with whom they work. FleetPortal also will be applicable to trailers, material handling equipment, utility vehicles, transit buses and the like. It also interfaces with VMRS parts codes.
FleetPortal technology actually is borrowed from the airline industry. The technology partner is Continental DataGraphics (CDG), a subsidiary of the Boeing Corp.
If you want further information, visit www.TMCFleetPortal.com or, fleetportal@cdgnow.com.
Or call (800) 456-7072 or (714) 503-4200.
